Method for rendering multi-dimensional image data

ABSTRACT

A method for rendering multi-dimensional image data having a plurality of objects is disclosed. The method includes the following steps: providing an object database for storing the objects, providing a first pointer storage block, obtaining a depth value of the objects as a pointer which points to an address of the first pointer storage block, storing the pointers of the objects in the object database into the first pointer storage block and according to the depth value, sequentially searching the first pointer storage block to take out the objects from the object database for displaying the image data. The method is able to skip the comparison operations for every object with different depth values as found in the prior art. Therefore, the method can reduce the amount of computation and the occupied memory bandwidth.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application Ser.No. 94142421, filed Dec. 2, 2005. All disclosure of the Taiwanapplication is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to an image processing method, andparticularly to a method for rendering multi-dimensional image data.

2. Description of the Related Art

The progress in science and technology has introduced computers into newbroader applications, such as in architecture design roving, virtualreality, animation, and advanced game programming. All of theaforementioned applications require 2-dimensional image processing and3-dimensional image processing. Indeed, in the modern time, the2-dimensional and 3-dimensional image rendering technology has played avital role in widespread applications.

In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,135, Sony Corporation in Japan has provided a2-dimensional and 3-dimensional image rendering method, by which animage data to be displayed is divided into a plurality of objects forforming. Take for example, a background, a 2-D sprite (a 2-D picture ofa chair for example; for the sake of simplicity, it is to be termed as asprite hereinafter), a 3-D ball, and a 3-D cup. In which, a sprite canbe an object, while a background can be an object or sprite.Furthermore, a sprite can be formed from a combination of a plurality ofsprites. In which, the ball and the cup are formed from a number ofpolygons, and each polygon is counted as an object. Each of theabove-described objects possess a depth value therewith, or a Z valuefor simplicity.

As the above-described object data are fed into an image processor, theimage processor starts to compare one by one each of the Z value. Forevery object, it needs to compare the Z value of the object with allother Z values of preceding inputted objects, until all of the objectsin the image data are inputted and sorted completely, followed bygraphic manipulations sequentially from the maximum Z value to theminimum Z value.

From the above description, it can be seen that a conventional renderingmethod requires continuously uninterrupted comparison of the objects.Such exhaustive computation is wasteful of much of the memory bandwidthand provides a heavy burden on the image processor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data for reducing quantity of computation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method forrendering multi-dimensional image data for reducing bandwidthconsumption of a memory.

The present invention provides a method for rendering multi-dimensionalimage data having a plurality of objects. The method includes: providingan object database for storing the objects; providing a first pointerstorage block; obtaining a depth value of the objects as a pointer whichis pointed to an address of the first pointer storage block and storingthe pointers of the objects in the object database into the firstpointer storage block; and upon displaying the image data, according tothe depth value, sequentially searching the first pointer storage blockto take out the objects from the object database for displaying.

According to the method for rendering multi-dimensional image data in anembodiment of the present invention, when a first specific object and asecond specific object among the objects having a same specific depthvalue, a second pointer storage block is provided, which includes aplurality of pointer storage arrays, and each pointer storage arrayincludes a plurality of pointer storage units. Then, the pointers whichare respectively pointed to the first specific object and the secondspecific object in the object database are stored into a specificpointer storage array in the second pointer storage block. Moreover,using the specific depth value as a pointer which is pointed to aspecific address of the first pointer storage block, the pointer whichis pointed to the specific pointer storage array in the second pointerstorage block is stored into the first pointer storage block accordingto the specific depth value.

The present invention provides a method for rendering multi-dimensionalimage data having a plurality of objects. The method includes: providingan object database for storing the objects; providing a first pointerstorage block and a second pointer storage block, wherein the secondpointer storage block comprises a plurality of pointer storage units,and each pointer storage unit comprises a first pointer and a secondpointer; using a depth value of each of the objects as a pointer whichis pointed to an address of the first pointer storage block and storingthe pointers which are pointed to the objects in the object databaseinto the first pointer storage block; when a first specific object and asecond specific object among the objects have a same specific depthvalue, the method further comprising: storing the pointer which ispointed to the first specific object in the object database into thefirst pointer of a first specific pointer storage unit in the secondpointer storage block; using the specific depth value as a pointer whichpointed to a specific address of the first pointer storage block andstoring the pointer which is pointed to the first specific pointerstorage unit in the second pointer storage block into the first pointerstorage block; storing the pointer which is pointed to the secondspecific object in the object database into the first pointer of asecond specific pointer storage unit in the second pointer storageblock; and storing the pointer which is pointed to the second specificpointer storage unit in the second pointer storage block into the secondpointer of the first specific pointer storage unit; and upon displayingthe image data, according to the depth value, sequentially searching thefirst pointer storage block and the second pointer storage block to takeout the objects from the object database for displaying.

Since the present invention provides an object database, a first pointerstorage block, and the pointers of the objects in the object databaseare stored into the first pointer storage block according to the depthvalues of the objects. In comparison with the prior art, the renderingmethod of the present invention is able to skip the originally requiredcomparison operations between any two objects with different depthvalues. Thus, the method of the present invention is suitable forreducing computation and required bandwidth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve for explaining theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system for renderingmulti-dimensional image data according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A is an architectural schematic of a second pointer storage block103.

FIG. 2B is an operation concept diagram based on the architecturalschematic of the second pointer storage block 103 in FIG. 2A forhandling a plurality of objects with the same Z value.

FIG. 3 is a process flowchart of the method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data according to the embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is an architectural schematic of a second pointer storage block103 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an process flowchart of the method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is an architectural schematic of a second pointer storage block103 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a process flowchart of the method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data according to yet another embodiment of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The method for rendering multi-dimensional image data requires the depthvalue of every object (a sprite or a polygon, for example) to becompared with each other to lead to wasting a substantial amount ofimage processing time and memory bandwidth are the drawbacks in theprior art. The present invention provides a method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data suitable for the reduction of computationand required bandwidth. In the following, an embodiment of the presentinvention is described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system for renderingmulti-dimensional image data according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to the block diagram in FIG. 1, a graphic processor10 based upon the objective of the present invention mainly includes: agraphic processing unit 100; an object database 101; a first pointerstorage block 102; and a second pointer storage block 103.

As a plurality of objects of an image data are fed into the graphicprocessor 10, the objects, regardless of whether each of the objects isa sprites or a different polygon, each has a depth value only (termed as“Z value”, hereinafter). The object data received by the graphicprocessor 10 are stored in the object database 101. Then, the Z valuesof the objects received by the graphic processor 10 are taken aspointers which are pointed to addresses of the first pointer storageblock 102, and the pointers of the objects in the object database 101are stored into the first pointer storage block 102. Therefore, there isno need for comparing the Z values of the objects as required in theprior art as implemented operations of the graphic processor 10 in thepresent invention.

In general, the Z values of the object in an image data are likely to bedifferent from each other; hence after a received object is stored inthe object database 101, it needs to take the Z value of the storedobject as a pointer pointed to a first pointer address in the firstpointer storage block 102 and to store the object pointer into the firstpointer storage block 102 according to the pointer pointed to the firstpointer address, wherein the object pointer points to the address of thestored object in the object database 101. By repeating theabove-described steps, all of the object pointers are sequentiallysorted according to the Z value of every object in the first pointerstorage block 102, which is equivalent to the sorting of the objectsbased on the Z values thereof. If the sorting was done using the priorart, the Z values of all of the objects received by the graphicprocessor have to be compared with each other for continuously updatedsorting. Therefore, a large amount of memory bandwidth and computationare required. Compared with the prior art, however, the objects aresequentially sorted at the beginning based on the Z values in a memoryspace (in the first pointer storage block 102) already in the embodimentof the present invention, which is able to save huge amounts ofcomputations and memory bandwidth.

To render the image data, the object pointers stored in the firstpointer storage block 102 can be searched starting from the maximum Zvalue. Then, according to an object pointer, the objects stored in theobject database 101 are searched, and the located object is given to thegraphic processing unit 100 for graphical plotting. Furthermore, the Zvalue is gradually decreased and the above-described steps are repeateduntil all of the objects have been taken out and given to the graphicprocessing unit 100 for graphical plotting.

In some cases, it is possible that different objects have the same Zvalue. In order to accommodate such situations, the embodiment of thepresent invention further provides a second pointer storage block 103for storing the pointers of the objects with the same Z value in theobject database. In the following, a case where a first specific objectand a second specific object among a plurality of objects in an imagedata having the same specific Z value is described as exemplary fordescribing the operations in the embodiment. Nevertheless, anyoneskilled in the art should know that the described case with two specificobjects having the same Z value is used as an example only; therefore,the present invention does not place limits on the number of suchobjects. In fact, the present invention is also applicable to three,four, or more objects with the same Z value.

Referring to FIG. 2A first, it is an architectural schematic of a secondpointer storage block 103. It is assumed that the second pointer storageblock 103 includes a plurality of pointer storage arrays 20, in whicheach pointer storage array 20 includes a plurality of pointer storageunits 21, and each pointer storage unit 21 further includes a firstpointer 201 and a second pointer 202. In the following, the secondpointer storage block 103 is described as an example.

When the first specific object and the second specific object in theobject database 101 have the same specific Z value, the pointers of thefirst specific object and the second specific object are first storedinto a specific pointer storage array 20S. The pointer which is pointedto the first specific object is stored into the first pointer 201 in thefirst specific pointer storage unit 21-1; the pointer which is pointedto the second specific object is stored into the first pointer 201 inthe second specific pointer storage unit 21-2. In addition, the secondpointer 202 in the first specific pointer storage unit 21-1 is pointedto the second specific pointer storage unit 21-2. The second pointer ofthe second specific pointer storage unit 21-2 is set as, for example, anending pointer. The pointer which is pointed to the specific pointerstorage array 20S in the second pointer storage block 103 is stored intothe first pointer storage block 102 corresponding to the specific Zvalue.

FIG. 2B is an operation concept diagram based on the architecturalschematic of the second pointer storage block 103 in FIG. 2A for storinga plurality of objects with the same Z value. When a first specificobject C101 and a second specific object C102 in the object database 101have the same Z value (Z=100), due to a plurality of objects with Z=100,a specific pointer storage array 20S is configured in the second pointerstorage block 103 for storing the pointers which are pointed to theobjects with the same Z value, in which, a first specific pointerstorage unit 21-1 and a second specific pointer storage unit 21-2 areconfigured in the specific pointer storage array 20S; and the two units21-1 and 21-2 are used for storing the pointers which are respectivelypointed to the first specific object C101 and the second specific objectC102. A first pointer P1 stored in the first specific pointer storageunit 21-1 points to the first specific object C101 (shown as an arrowP201 in FIG. 2B), while a second pointer P2 stored in the first specificpointer storage unit 21-1 points to the second specific pointer storageunit 21-2 (shown as an arrow P202 in FIG. 2B). The first pointer P1stored in the second specific pointer storage unit 21-2 points to thesecond specific object C102 (shown as an arrow P203 in FIG. 2B), whilethe second pointer P2 stored in the second specific pointer storage unit21-2 is an ending pointer. The pointer stored in the first storage block102 corresponding to the specific Z value of 100 is pointed to thespecific pointer storage array 20S (shown as an arrow P204 in FIG. 2B).

To display the image data, the graphic processing unit 100 starts asearch for an address in the first pointer storage block 102 from themaximum Z value in order to find an object. Thereafter, the Z value isgradually reduced to the specific Z value; and the specific Z value isused as a pointer, which is pointed to a specific address of the firstpointer storage block 102. The first pointer storage block 102 isstarted to be searched to locate a pointer storage array 20 with apointer that points to the second pointer storage block 103 and furtherto locate a first pointer 201 in the first specific pointer storage unit21-11 for obtaining the first specific object to be plotted. Afterwards,according to a second pointer 202 in the first specific pointer storageunit 21-1 of the graphic processing unit 100 which points to the secondspecific pointer storage unit 21-2, the second specific pointer storageunit 21-2 is searched for sequentially. According to the first pointer201 of the second specific pointer storage unit 21-2, the secondspecific object can be obtained for plotting. Furthermore, the graphicprocessing unit 100 searches for the ending pointer in the secondpointer 202 of the second specific pointer storage unit 21-2, and uponthe finding of the ending pointer, the above-described procedures arerepeated again and again until the plotting is finished and the imagedata is displayed by reducing the Z value.

It can be seen that the above-described embodiment can be made into aprocess flowchart, where the pointers which are pointed to the objectsare stored into the first pointer storage block corresponding to the Zvalues. It is able to reduce the amount of comparison operationsoriginally required by those objects with different Z values. Inaddition, the present scheme also provides a second pointer storageblock where the pointers of several objects with the same Z value can bestored. In comparison with the prior art, although the scheme for theembodiment of the present invention seems slightly more complex to dealwith having to assign the storage positions in the second pointerstorage block 103 where a lot of objects have the same Z value; however,it is noticeable that the proportion of the objects with the same Zvalue for a 3D frame is very low. Therefore, under an overallassessment, the present invention certainly is able to achieve the goalof lesser computation for the graphic processor 10 and the reducedoccupancy of the memory bandwidth.

FIG. 3 is a process flowchart of the method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, in which the image data has a plurality of objects. Referringto FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 3 at the same time, firstly, an object database101, a first pointer storage block 102, and a second pointer storageblock 103 are provided, where the object database 101 is used forstoring the objects, the second pointer storage block 103 includes aplurality of pointer storage arrays 20, each pointer storage array 20includes a plurality of pointer storage units 21, and each pointerstorage unit 21 further includes a first pointer 201 and a secondpointer 202 (step 301). Next, the Z values of the objects are taken aspointers which are pointed to addresses of the first pointer storageblock 102, and the pointers which are pointed to the objects in theobject database 101 are stored into the first pointer storage block 102according to the Z-values (step 302).

When a first specific object and a second specific object have a samespecific depth value (Z value), the pointers which are respectivelypointed to the first specific object and the second specific object inthe object database 101 are stored into a specific pointer storage arrayof the second pointer storage block 103 (step 303). The step 303includes the following sub-steps. First, the pointer which is pointed tothe first specific object in the object database is stored into thefirst pointer of the first specific pointer storage unit in the specificpointer storage array (sub-step 303.1). Next, the pointer which ispointed to the second specific object in the object database is storedinto the first pointer of the second specific pointer storage unit inthe specific pointer storage array (sub-step 303.2). Afterwards, thepointer which is pointed to the second specific pointer unit in thesecond pointer storage block is stored into the second pointer of thefirst specific pointer storage unit (sub-step 303.3). Furthermore,taking the specific Z-values as a pointer, which is pointed to anaddress of the first pointer storage block, the pointer which is pointedto the specific pointer storage array in the second pointer storageblock is stored into the first pointer storage block (sub-step 303.4).

After the step 303, according to the arrangement of the depth value frommaximum to minimum, the first pointer storage block 101 is searched totake out the objects from the object database for graphic manipulation(step 304). When at least one of the pointers stored in the firstpointer storage block is pointed to the pointer storage array in thesecond pointer storage block, the step includes the sub-steps as follows(step 305). According to the pointers stored in the pointer storage unitof said pointer storage array, the objects are sequentially taken outfrom the object database for a graphic manipulation (sub-step 305.1).Next, the sub-step 305.1 is repeated again and again until the secondpointer in the pointer storage unit is found to be an ending pointer(sub-step 305.2). Finally, the rendered image data is available and isdisplayed (step 306).

In the above-described embodiment, if the second pointer storage block103 has a different architecture, the method for implementation wouldalso be different. FIG. 4 is an architectural schematic of a secondpointer storage block 103 according to another embodiment of the presentinvention. In which, the second pointer storage block 103 includes aplurality of pointer storage arrays 40, each pointer storage array 40includes a plurality of pointer storage units 41, and each pointerstorage unit 41 is available for storing a pointer. Corresponding to theabove-mentioned conditions, another embodiment is shown in FIG. 5, whichis a flowchart of the method for rendering multi-dimensional image dataaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

First, an object database 101, a first pointer storage block 102, and asecond pointer storage block 103 are provided, in which the objectdatabase 101 is used for storing objects, the second pointer storageblock 103 includes a plurality of pointer storage arrays 40, and eachpointer storage array 40 includes a plurality of storage units 41 (step501). Next, taking the Z-values of the objects as pointers which arepointed to addresses of the first pointer storage block, the pointerswhich are pointed to the objects in the object database 101 are storedinto the first pointer storage block 102 (step 502).

When some of the specific objects among the objects have a same specificZ-value, the step includes the sub-steps as follows (step 503): First,the pointers which are pointed to the specific objects in the objectdatabase 101 are sequentially stored into the specific pointer storagearray of the second pointer storage block 103 (sub-step 503.1). Then,taking the specific Z-values as a pointer which is pointed to a specificaddress of the first pointer storage block, the pointer which is pointedto the specific pointer storage array in the second pointer storageblock is stored into the first pointer storage block (sub-step 503.2).

Then, according to the arrangement of the depth value from maximum tominimum, the first pointer storage block 102 is searched to take out theobjects from the object database for graphic manipulation (step 504).When the pointer stored in the first pointer storage block 101 points tothe specific pointer storage array 40 in the second pointer storageblock 102, the (step 505) includes the sub-steps as follows: First,according to the pointers stored in the pointer storage unit of thepointer storage array 40, the objects are sequentially taken out fromthe object database to perform a graphic manipulation (sub-step 505.1).Next, the (sub-step 505.1) is repeated again and again until the pointerin the pointer storage unit is found to be an ending pointer (sub-step505.2). Finally, the rendered image data is available and is displayed(step 506).

Similarly, the second pointer storage block 103 in the above-describedembodiment has a different architecture as shown in FIG. 6, and themethod for implementation would be also different. In which, the secondpointer storage block 103 includes a plurality of pointer storage units60, where each pointer storage unit 60 includes a first pointer 601 anda second pointer 602. Under the above-mentioned conditions, there is yetanother embodiment as shown in FIG. 7, which is a process flowchart ofthe method for rendering multi-dimensional image data according to yetanother embodiment of the present invention.

First, an object database 101, a first pointer storage block 102, and asecond pointer storage block 103 are provided, in which the objectdatabase 101 is used for storing objects, the second pointer storageblock 103 includes a plurality of pointer storage units 60, and eachpointer storage unit 60 includes a first pointer 601 and a secondpointer 602 (step 701). Next, taking the Z-values of objects as pointerswhich are pointed to addresses of the first pointer storage block, thepointers which are pointed to the objects in the object database 101 arestored into the first pointer storage block 102 (step 702).

When the first specific object and the second specific object among theobjects have a same specific Z-value, the step 703 includes thesub-steps as follows. First, the pointer, which is pointed to the firstspecific object in the object database 101 is stored into the firstpointer 601 of the first specific pointer storage unit 60 in the secondpointer storage block 103 (sub-step 703.1). Next, taking the specificZ-value as a pointer which is pointed to a specific address of the firstpointer storage block, the pointer which is pointed to the firstspecific pointer storage unit 60 in the second pointer storage block 103are stored into the first pointer storage block 102 (sub-step 703.2).Afterwards, the pointer which is pointed to the second specific objectin the object database 101 is stored into the first pointer 601 of thesecond specific pointer storage unit 60 in the second pointer storageblock 103 (sub-step 703.3). Then, the pointer which is pointed to thesecond specific pointer storage unit 60 in the second pointer storageblock 103 are stored into the second pointer 602 of the first specificpointer storage unit 60 (sub-step 703.4).

Then, to display the image data, according to the arrangement of thedepth value from maximum to minimum, it searches for the first pointerstorage block 102 to take out the objects from the object database toperform graphic manipulation (step 704). When the pointers stored in thefirst pointer storage block points to the second pointer storage block103, the step 705 includes the sub-steps as follows. First, according tothe first pointer 601 in the pointer storage unit 60, the objects aretaken out from the object database to perform graphic manipulation; andaccording to the second pointer 602 in the pointer storage unit 60, thenext pointer storage unit 60 is located (sub-step 705.1). Next, the(sub-step 705.1) is repeated again and again until the second pointer inthe pointer storage unit 60 is found to be an ending pointer (sub-step705.2). Finally, the rendered image data is available and is displayed(step 706).

In summary, the present invention provides an object database and afirst pointer storage block, and the pointers of objects in the objectdatabase are stored into the first pointer storage block according tothe depth values of the objects. The rendering method of the presentinvention is able to skip the originally required comparison operationsbetween any two objects with different depth values as found in theprior art. Thus, the method of the present invention is suitable forreducing computation and the required bandwidth.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of the presentinvention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the specification andexamples to be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope andspirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims andtheir equivalents.

1. A method for rendering multi-dimensional image data applied in agraphic processor, wherein the multi-dimensional image data comprises aplurality of objects, comprising: providing an object database forstoring the objects; providing a first pointer storage block; providingrespectively a depth value for the objects as a pointer which is pointedto an address of the first pointer storage block and storing thepointers from the objects in the object database into the first pointerstorage block; using the graphic processor to sequentially search thefirst pointer storage block to take out the objects from the objectdatabase for displaying the multi-dimensional image data according tothe depth value; and wherein when a first specific object and a secondspecific object among the objects having a same specific depth value,the method further comprises: providing a second pointer storage block,which comprises a plurality of pointer storage arrays having a pluralityof pointer storage units respectively; storing the pointers pointedrespectively to the first specific object and the second specific objectof the object database into a specific pointer storage array of thesecond pointer storage block; using the specific depth value as apointer which is pointed to a specific address of the first pointerstorage block; and storing the pointer which is pointed to the specificpointer storage array of the second pointer storage block into the firstpointer storage block according to the specific address of the firstpointer storage block.
 2. The method for rendering multi-dimensionalimage data applied in a graphic processor as recited in claim 1, whereineach pointer storage unit comprises a first pointer and a secondpointer, further comprising: storing the pointer pointed to the firstspecific object in the object database into the first pointer of a firstspecific pointer storage unit in the specific pointer storage array;storing the pointer which is pointed to the second specific object inthe object database into the first pointer of a second specific pointerstorage unit in the specific pointer storage array; and storing thepointer which is pointed to the second specific pointer storage unit inthe second pointer storage block into the second pointer of the firstspecific pointer storage unit, wherein the pointer pointed to thespecific pointer storage array in the second pointer storage block isthe pointer pointed to the first specific pointer storage unit in thesecond pointer storage block.
 3. The method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data applied in a graphic processor as recitedin claim 1, wherein storing the pointers pointed respectively to thefirst specific object and the second specific object in the objectdatabase into the specific pointer storage array further comprising:taking the specific depth value as the pointer which is pointed to thespecific address of the first pointer storage block; and storing thepointer pointed to the first pointer storage unit in the specificpointer storage array into the first pointer storage block according tothe specific address of the first pointer storage block.
 4. The methodfor rendering multi-dimensional image data applied in a graphicprocessor as recited in claim 1, wherein, further comprising:sequentially searching and taking out the objects of the object databasefrom the first pointer storage block for plotting and displaying theplotted image data according to the depth value from the maximum to theminimum.
 5. The method for rendering multi-dimensional image dataapplied in a graphic processor as recited in claim 1, wherein, upondisplaying the image data, according to the depth value, sequentiallysearching the first pointer storage block to take out the objects fromthe object database for displaying, comprising: sequentially searchingand taking out the objects of the object database from the first pointerstorage block for plotting manipulation according to the depth valuefrom the maximum to the minimum; when a pointer stored in the firstpointer storage block points to one of the pointer storage arrays of thesecond pointer storage block, sequentially taking out the objects of theobject database for plotting manipulation according to the pointersstored in the pointer storage units in said pointer storage array, andcontinuing the above-described procedure once the taking out iscompleted; and displaying the image data having the plottingmanipulation.
 6. A method for rendering multi-dimensional image dataapplied in a graphic processor, wherein the multi-dimensional image datacomprises a plurality of objects, comprising: providing an objectdatabase for storing the objects; providing a first pointer storageblock and a second pointer storage block, wherein the second pointerstorage block comprises a plurality of pointer storage units, and eachsaid pointer storage unit comprises a first pointer and a secondpointer; using the graphic processor to use a depth value of the objectsas a pointer which is pointed to an address of the first pointer storageblock and storing the pointers of the objects from object database intothe first pointer storage block; when a first specific object and asecond specific object among the objects have a same specific depthvalue, the method further comprising: storing the pointer which ispointed to the first specific object in the object database into thefirst pointer of a first specific pointer storage unit in the secondpointer storage block; using the specific depth value as a pointer whichis point to a specific address of the first pointer storage block andstoring the pointer which is pointed to the first specific pointerstorage unit of the second pointer storage block into the first pointerstorage block according to the specific address of the first pointerstorage block; storing the pointer which is pointed to the secondspecific object of the object database into the first pointer of asecond specific pointer storage unit in the second pointer storageblock; and storing the pointer which is pointed to the second specificpointer storage unit of the second pointer storage block into the secondpointer of the first specific pointer storage unit; and using thegraphic processor to sequentially search and take out the objects of theobject database from the first pointer storage block and the secondpointer storage block for displaying the multi-dimensional image dataaccording to the depth value
 7. The method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data applied in a graphic processor as recitedin claim 6, further comprising: sequentially searching and taking outthe objects of the object database from the first pointer storage blockfor plotting manipulation, and displaying the multi-dimensional imagedata having the plotting manipulation according to the depth value fromthe maximum to the minimum.
 8. The method for renderingmulti-dimensional image data applied in a graphic processor as recitedin claim 7, further comprising: when a pointer stored in the firstpointer storage block points to one of the pointer storage arrays of thesecond pointer storage block, taking out the objects from the objectdatabase for plotting manipulation according to the first pointer storedin the pointer storage unit of said pointer storage array, and locatingthe next pointer storage unit according to the second pointer stored inthe pointer storage unit of said pointer storage array; and repeatingthe above-described procedure until the second pointer in the pointerstorage unit is found as an ending pointer.